You never know where antenna materials can be found. In this article, W6OT converts an old "found" magnetic mount CB antenna into a useful 1/4 wavelength 2 meter antenna. Although I've converted several Radio Shack 102 inch/259.02 cm steel whips into 10 meter vertical antennas, I have yet to change one of these old shorted CB antennas from 11 meters to 2 meters.

By adding a short length of brass rod to the original whip and attaching a coiled 19 inch/48.26 cm counterpoise wire, W6OT was able to cut and trim the antenna so it resonated in the middle of the 2 meter Amateur Radio Band (around 146.0444 MHz).

Rather than toss that old CB antenna (full-length or "shorty" version), try converting it to some other ham band. It's like getting an antenna for free, minus your labor and set up time.

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